Coordinates: 49°02′46″N 1°26′38″W / 49.0461111111°N 1.44388888889°W
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Commune of Coutances |
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| Location | |
  Coutances
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Basse-Normandie |
| Department | Manche |
| Arrondissement | Coutances |
| Canton | Coutances |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 12–150 m (39–490 ft) |
| Land area1 | 12.51 km2 (4.83 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 9,546 (1999) |
| - Density | 763 /km2 (1,980 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 50147/ 50200 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
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History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. The surrounding region, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus subsequently became known as the Cotentin Peninsula.
The town was destroyed by invading Normans in 866, who later established settlements and incorporated the whole peninsula into the Duchy of Normandy in 933.
In July 17, 1944, napalm was first used on the city.
Heraldry
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The arms of Coutances are blazoned : |
Sights
Coutances Cathedral is one of the major buildings of Norman architecture and contains a chapel and stained glass dedicated to Saint Marcouf. The bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands until the Reformation, despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569.
Coutances houses a well-known botanical garden and an art museum.
Twin towns
Coutances is twinned with:
Ochsenfurt in Germany 
- File:Troina-Stemma.png Troina in Sicily
, Italy 
- Ilkley in England
, United Kingdom 
- Saint Ouen in Jersey
, United Kingdom - La Pocatière in Canada
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coutances |
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